Provided is an apparatus and method for performing a device-to-device communication. User equipment devices may perform a wireless communication through a base station and may perform a device-to-device communication among user equipment devices. Exemplary embodiments provide a method including: receiving, at a target user equipment (UE), MAC PDU including a MAC header and a MAC payload, wherein the MAC header indicates a device-to-device communication, and the MAC payload includes data to be transmitted through the device-to-device communication; identifying, from the MAC header, a source identification field and a target identification field following the source identification field, wherein the source identification field is associated with a source layer-2 identification of a source UE, and the target identification field is associated with a target layer-2 identification of the target UE; and determining whether the MAC payload includes data for the target UE based on a value of the target identification field.
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1. A method of performing a device-to-device communication among user equipment (UE) devices, the method comprising: receiving, at a first UE, a first message transmitted from a second UE for a device-to-device communication between the first UE and the second UE, wherein the first message comprises a medium access control (MAC) header and a MAC payload, wherein the MAC header comprises a first source identification field, a first target identification field, and one or more MAC sub-headers for the device-to-device communication, wherein the first source identification field and the first target identification field are followed by the MAC sub-headers; determining the second UE as a source of the first message by identifying the first source identification field associated with a source layer-2 identification of the second UE; determining whether the first message is transmitted for the first UE by identifying the first target identification field associated with a target layer-2 identification of the first UE; and retrieving a MAC control element from the MAC payload, the MAC control element corresponding to the MAC control element sub-header included in the one or more MAC sub-headers, wherein at least one of the target layer-2 identification of the first UE and the source layer-2 identification of the second UE is determined from a proximity-based services identification configured for the second UE by a higher layer signaling for a device-to-device communication, wherein the first target identification field has a length of 16 bits, wherein the first target identification field has a value of zero when a transmission type used for a MAC Packet Data Unit (PDU) is broadcasting, and wherein the first target identification field has a non-zero 16-bit value when a transmission type used for a MAC PDU is multicasting or unicasting.
User devices communicate directly (device-to-device). A first device receives a message from a second device. The message contains a MAC header and a MAC payload. The MAC header includes a source ID (identifying the second device), a target ID (identifying the first device), and MAC sub-headers. The target and source IDs are followed by MAC sub-headers. The first device reads the source ID to identify the second device. It also reads the target ID to confirm the message is for itself. A MAC control element (control information) is extracted from the MAC payload using information from the MAC sub-headers. At least one of the device IDs is based on a proximity-based service ID configured by higher-layer signaling. The target ID is 16 bits long. It's zero for broadcasting and non-zero for multicasting/unicasting.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: transmitting, from the first UE to the second UE, a second message, wherein the second message comprises a MAC header comprising a second source identification field, a second target identification field, and one or more MAC sub-headers for a device-to-device communication, wherein the second source identification field is associated with a source layer-2 identification of the first UE, and the second target identification field is associated with a target layer-2 identification of the second UE.
Building upon the device-to-device communication, a first device also transmits a message back to a second device. This second message has a MAC header containing a source ID (identifying the first device), a target ID (identifying the second device), and MAC sub-headers. The source ID identifies the first device. The target ID identifies the intended recipient, the second device. The MAC payload contains data.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the target layer-2 identification of the second UE and the source layer-2 identification of the first UE is determined from a proximity-based services identification configured for the first UE by a higher layer signaling for a device-to-device communication.
Extending the two-way device-to-device communication described previously, at least one of the layer-2 device IDs (either for the sending or receiving device) is determined from a proximity-based service ID. This proximity-based service ID is configured for the user device by higher-layer signaling specifically for device-to-device communication. This allows devices to identify each other based on proximity services.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a length of the source layer-2 identification of the second UE corresponds to a multiple of 8 bits that is longer than 8 bits.
In device-to-device communication, the source device ID, which identifies the sending device, has a length that is a multiple of 8 bits and is longer than 8 bits. This means the source device ID is larger than a single byte, providing more possible device IDs for source identification.
5. A method of configuring a medium access control (MAC) message for a device-to-device communication among user equipment (UE) devices, the method comprising: receiving, at a first UE by a higher layer signaling, proximity-based services identifications; configuring a MAC header for a device-to-device communication between the first UE and a second UE, the MAC header comprising a first source identification field, a first target identification field, and one or more MAC sub-headers for the device-to-device communication, and the one or more MAC sub-headers comprising a MAC control element sub-header; configuring a MAC payload comprising a MAC control element corresponding to the MAC control element sub-header; transmitting, from the first UE to the second UE through a device-to-device communication, a first message comprising the MAC header and the MAC payload, wherein the first source identification field and the first target identification field are followed by the MAC sub-headers, wherein the first source identification field is configured based on a source layer-2 identification of the first UE, the source layer-2 identification of the first UE being determined from a received proximity-based services identification associated with the first UE, and wherein the first target identification field is configured based on a target layer-2 identification of the second UE, the target layer-2 identification of the second UE being determined from a received proximity-based services identification associated with the second UE, wherein the first target identification field has a length of 16 bits, wherein the first target identification field has a value of zero when a transmission type used for a MAC Packet Data Unit (PDU) is broadcasting, and wherein the first target identification field has a non-zero 16-bit value when a transmission type used for a MAC PDU is multicasting or unicasting.
To enable device-to-device communication, a device receives proximity-based service IDs from a higher layer. It then creates a MAC header. This MAC header includes a source ID (for itself), a target ID (for the other device), and MAC sub-headers including a MAC control element sub-header. The device also creates a MAC payload, which contains a MAC control element. The device sends a message with this MAC header and payload. The source ID is based on its own layer-2 ID from the proximity-based service IDs. The target ID is based on the other device's layer-2 ID from its proximity-based service IDs. The target ID is 16 bits long. It's zero for broadcasting and non-zero for multicasting/unicasting.
6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising: receiving, at the first UE, a second message transmitted from the second UE, wherein the second message comprising a MAC header comprising a second source identification field, a second target identification field, and one or more MAC sub-headers for a device-to-device communication, wherein the second source identification field is associated with a source layer-2 identification of the second UE, and the second target identification field is associated with a target layer-2 identification of the first UE.
Expanding on configuring device-to-device communication, a first device also receives a message from a second device. This incoming message has a MAC header that contains a source ID (identifying the second device), a target ID (identifying the first device), and MAC sub-headers. The second device's source ID and the first device's target ID are used to identify the sender and receiver of the message.
7. A method of performing a device-to-device communication in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving, at a source user equipment (UE), a proximity-based services identification from a base station by a higher layer signaling; generating, at the source UE, a medium access control (MAC) packet data unit (PDU) based on the received proximity-based services identification; and transmitting the MAC PDU to one or more target UEs through a device-to-device communication, wherein the generation of the MAC PDU comprises: configuring a MAC header for the device-to-device communication, the MAC header comprising a source identification field and a target identification field following the source identification field, and configuring a MAC payload for the device-to-device communication, the MAC payload comprising a MAC control element and a MAC service data unit, wherein the source identification field is associated with a source layer-2 identification corresponding to the source UE, and the target identification field is associated with a target layer-2 identification corresponding to the one or more target UEs, wherein the MAC control element comprises control information for the device-to-device communication, and the MAC service data unit comprises data to be transmitted through the device-to-device communication, wherein the target identification field has a length of 16 bits, wherein the target identification field has a value of zero when a transmission type used for a MAC Packet Data Unit (PDU) is broadcasting, and wherein the target identification field has a non-zero 16-bit value when a transmission type used for a MAC PDU is multicasting or unicasting.
In a wireless system, a device receives a proximity-based service ID from a base station. Based on this ID, the device generates a MAC PDU for device-to-device communication. The MAC PDU is transmitted to other devices. Generating the MAC PDU involves configuring a MAC header with a source ID and a target ID. The source ID identifies the sending device. The target ID identifies the receiving devices. A MAC payload is also configured, containing a MAC control element (for control information) and a MAC service data unit (containing the actual data). The target ID is 16 bits long. It is zero for broadcasting and non-zero for multicasting/unicasting.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the source layer-2 identification is a multiple of 8 bits and the source layer-2 identification is longer than 8 bits and has a maximum length of 32 bits.
In the described device-to-device communication method, the source device's layer-2 identification is a multiple of 8 bits, is longer than 8 bits, and has a maximum length of 32 bits. This defines the size and structure of the identifier used for the sending device, allowing for a reasonably large ID space.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the source layer-2 identification and the target layer-2 identification is determined from the proximity-based services identification, and wherein configuration information to determine an identification of a UE from the proximity-based services identification is included in a radio resource control (RRC) message transmitted from the base station.
Further detailing the device-to-device communication, either the source or target device ID is derived from the proximity-based service ID. Configuration information, specifying how to determine a device's ID from its proximity-based service ID, is included in a radio resource control (RRC) message transmitted from the base station. This defines how the base station informs the devices about the method of ID determination.
10. A method of performing a device-to-device communication in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving, at a target user equipment (UE), medium access control (MAC) packet data unit (PDU) comprising a MAC header and a MAC payload, wherein the MAC header indicates a device-to-device communication, and the MAC payload comprises data transmitted through the device-to-device communication; identifying, from the MAC header, a source identification field and a target identification field following the source identification field, wherein the source identification field is associated with a source layer-2 identification of a source UE, and the target identification field is associated with a target layer-2 identification of the target UE; and determining whether the MAC payload includes data for the target UE based on a value of the target identification field, wherein the target identification field has a length of 16 bits, wherein the target identification field has a value of zero when a transmission type used for a MAC PDU is broadcasting, and wherein the target identification field has a non-zero 16-bit value when a transmission type used for a MAC PDU is multicasting or unicasting.
In a wireless system, a target device receives a MAC PDU. The PDU contains a MAC header and a MAC payload. The MAC header indicates that this is a device-to-device communication. The MAC payload contains the actual data. The target device reads the MAC header to find the source ID and the target ID. The source ID identifies the sending device. The target ID identifies the receiving device. The device then uses the target ID to determine if the data in the MAC payload is intended for itself. The target ID is 16 bits long. It's zero for broadcasting, non-zero for multicasting/unicasting.
11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising: receiving, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message comprising configuration information to determine an identification of a UE from a proximity-based services identification; determining at least one of the source layer-2 identification and the target layer-2 identification from the proximity-based services identification.
Adding to the device-to-device communication, the target device receives an RRC message from the base station. This message provides configuration information for determining a device's ID from its proximity-based service ID. The target device then uses this configuration information to determine at least one of the device IDs (either source or target) from the proximity-based service IDs.
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March 5, 2015
March 14, 2017
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